Illumination indicator or telltale



July l1, 1939 w. F. MATsoN 2,165,899

ILLUMINATION INDICATOR OR TELLTALE Filed Aug. 2, 1937 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Patented July 11, 1939 UNITED STATE gm" orFicE ILLUMINATION INDICATOR OR TELLTALE Walter F. Matson, Malden, Mass'.

Application August 2,

2 Claims.

This invention relates to an illumination indicator and more particularly to' a tell-tale for headlights which indicates that the headlight is illuminated.

In devices of the prior art such indicators have been applied to the headlights of automobiles, and in many instances consist of rigidconstructions which project forwardly and upwardly with reference `to the lens and are carried thereby and 10 by the headlight casing in such mannerthat they ficult to assemble and require special` attaching means in order to secur'e them to the headlight. `Still other forms of tell-tales have been made ,i which consist of sheet metal constructions. This form is objectionable-in that they are subject to weather and consequently will rust in time and fail to provide the necessary reflecting surfaces.

Many of the sheet metal type are provided with 0 lips which are adapted to extend between the headlight lens and its engaging bezel so that the metal lies directly against the lens. In this type accidental Vimpact on the tell-tale subjectsthe lens to strain, often resulting in breaking of the n.- lens.

The present invention is designed to overcome the difficulties of both types mentioned above and consists of a single piece of flexible, resilient, transparent material which may be quickly and easily attached to conventional headlights without any modication or change in their construction and without thenecessity of providing special attaching means. Therefore, the tell-tale of this invention can be attached to any of the j headlights in use today by persons who are unskilled in the art of mechanics.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will appear as this description proceeds, it being understood that I have illustrated herein only some ofthe forms which my invention is` capable of taking and that I do not intend to limit myself to the precise details of construction, material or nish of parts.

Referring tothe accompanying drawings form- 551iing part hereof,

1937,'Serial No. 157,032

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a headlight with the tell-tale attached thereto.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view of the headlight with the tell-tale indicated in side elevation.

Fig. 3 isa plan View of the blank from which the tell-tale is formed.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the blank after it has been bent to its final form.

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of a modified form of my invention.

Fig. 6 is a plan view of Fig. 5.

Fig. '7 is a fragmentary sectional view of the headlight with the tell-tale of Fig. 5 bent to its nal shape and secured tothe headlight.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary sectional View of the headlight with still another form of my invention attached thereto.

Fig. 9 is a plan view of the blank from which the tell-tale of Fig. 8 is formed.

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary detail view partially in section of Fig. 8.V

Fig. 1l is a plan View of a blank for producing an additional modification of my invention, and

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary sectional view of the headlight with thatform of my invention illustrated in Fig. 11 formed to nal shape and secured thereto.

In all forms of my invention the headlight is made up of a single piece of flexible, resilient, transparent material but which nevertheless is of sufficient strength and rigidity to be self-sustaining. The material may be Celluloid or any similar substance and in the case of that form illustrated in- Figs. 5 to 7, I prefer to use the material commonly known as lucite, the purpose of which will be hereinafter explained. The material, so long as it retains the properties mentioned above, may be any of the well known kinds now appearing on the market.

Referring particularly to Figs. 1 to 4 wherein I have illustrated the simplest form of my invention, I have indicated a headlight I of conventional form. This headlight 'includes a lens 2 and a bezel V3 provided with an overhanging lip il for retaining the lens 2 in place.Y The bezel 3 may be secured to the headlight casing in any suitable manner and since the headlight itself forms no part of this invention the showing of the same is merely illustrative, it being under- 5 stood that my invention is adapted to be applied to any of thercommon forms of headlight.

The tell-tale forming the subject-matter of this invention, as stated above, consists of a single piece of transparent, resilient, flexible ma 55.-

terial such as Celluloid. It is made up from a flat blank 5 of generally trapezoidal shape.

The blank is bent into substantially inverted U-shape as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 and is provided at its narrower end with'an angularly extending lip 6 which passes between the lens 2 and the bezel 3 and is clamped therebetween in order that the tell-tale may be secured in position.

As shown in Fig. 2, the angularly extending lip 6 is continued over the edge of the lens and into the interior of the headlight as indicated at 1, but it will be understood that the lip may be cut at approximately the point 8, thereby elim-V inating the extension which passes behind the lens. With a tell-tale of this type it is merely necessary to slide the lip I between the lens and bezel in order to secure the same in place. Y However, such tell-tale can be easily removed by merely pulling it from between the lens and bezel, and in order to guard against theft of the telltale I provide the extension 1, it being readily apparent that the tell-tale of this form cannot be removed without removal of the bezel 3.

An examination of Figs. 1 and 2 will indicate that the outer leg of the substantially inverted U-shaped tell-tale is supported at the top of the headlight in front of the lens and spaced therefrom so that rays from the headlight bulb impinge on this leg and are reflected through the other leg above the headlight casing where they Will be seen by the person at the rear of the headlight.

I have illustrated in this form of the invention a reflector 8 located on that leg of the inverted U-shapecl member that is in front of Ythe lens, and while a reflector may be desirable, I have found that the tell-tale will operate successfully Without such reflecting surface, the Celluloid itself giving off sufficient reflection.

In the form just described it will be seen that I have provided a very simple, safe and effective indicator which may be attached Yto any of the known forms of headlight without the necessity of special tools nor the provision of special attaching means. Furthermore, due to the character of the material employed, it is apparent that no injury can result from contact therewith and that due to its resilient character, it will always resume its proper position even if contacted and temporarily bent out of proper position. In addition, it is not capable of rusting and imposes no strain whatever on the lens of the headlight even if subjected to impact.

By employing Celluloid or a similar material the blank as shown in Fig. 3 can be bent to any desired form merely by placing the Celluloid blank in hot Water, bending to form and allowing the same to cool and dry. Therefore, in the event the tell-tale loses its proper shape after long periods of use, it canbe rebent and reset with ease and facility.

Referring now to Figs. 5 and 6, another form has been illustrated which consists of a rod or tube of transparent, resilient, flexible material such as lucite. This material has been found to have the property of concentration of light beams and in order to adapt this material to a headlight tell-tale I bevel the rod Il! at one end as at II and flatten the opposite end as at I2 to form an attaching lip.

The manner of attachment is similar to that described in connection with the form illustrated in Fig. 1 and is clearly shown in Fig. '7. The

lfiattened end I2 is passed between the lens 2 and bezel 3 and clamped in position. The flattened end may be bent intermediate its ends to engage over the edge of the lens 2 and project into the interior of the headlight casing as shown at I3 in order to provide a theft-proof manner of securing. In this form, as in Fig. 1, the extension I3 may be eliminated by cutting the flattened end at approximately the point M and merely slipping the remaining flattened portion between the lens 2 and bezel 3.

In this form of the invention light from the headlight source is concentrated in the rod I0 and is visible on the beveled face II at the end of the tube. By beveling the face Il it will be seen that when the rod is curved to final form a flat surface is presented to an observer at the rear of and above the headlight.

It is also to be understood that the form shown in Figs. 5 to 'l' inclusive can consist of a rod of Celluloid formed and secured in exactly the same manner as disclosed in Fig. 7, but in such case the Celluloid rod will reflect light rather than Yconcentrate it, the reflection appearing adjacent the end II of the rod I0.

An additional form of my invention is shown in Figs. 8, 9 and 10. In this form a blank of Celluloid or similar material, as shown in Fig. l9, is used. This blank consists of a strip of said material I5 provided at one end with a reduced lip I6 and at its opposite end with a slot I'I. The lip I6 is slightly wider than the width of the slot I'I so that the lip I6 must be bent for insertion in and removal from the slot. By forming one edge of the slot I1 with a curved surface as indicated at I8 provision is made for bending the lip I6 in order that it may be removed from the slot.

At the juncture between the lip I6 and the strip I5 I provide notches I9 which engage the ends of the slot I1 after the lip I6 has been inserted therein and released. It is obvious that, due to the resilient characterV of the material used, the lip I6 will atten as soon as released, thereby interlocking the Yends of the slot I'I with the notches I9 and securely holding the tell-tale in proper form.

Fig. 8 discloses the tell-tale after it has been bent to Vproper form and the lip I6 inserted through the slot.

In this form the lip I6 is clamped between the lens 2 and bezel 3 of the headlight and the loop extends forwardly from the lens so as to receive light raysvfrom the source of light within the headlight and reflect them rearwardly above the headlight.

In this form, as in those previously described, the lip I6 may be provided with an extension similar to that disclosed at 'I in Fig. 2 in order to render the tell-tale theft-proof.

I have also discovered that if the tell-tale is provided with a plurality of openings such as indicated at 2D the tendency to ap when the headlight is in motion is greatly reduced and it is understood that these openings, while illustrated merely in the form shown in Fig. 9, are applicable to any of the forms in which a at sheet-like piece of material is used.

Figs. 11 and 12 represent an additional form of my invention. This form is quite similar to that disclosed in Fig. 8 With the exception that thelocking tongue does not form Vthe means for attaching it to the headlight.

Referring to Fig. 11, the tell-tale is made up of a flat strip Yof Celluloid or similar material having the properties hereinbefore set forth as indicated at 2|. At one end I provide a reduced lip 22 provided with notches 23 at opposite sides thereof. The blank is adapted to be bent into a loop form as shown in Fig. 12 with the lip 22 projecting through the slot 24 and being retained therein by interlock between the ends of the slot and the notches 23. As in Fig. 9 the resiliency of the material will permit the notches 23 to spring into engagement with the ends of the slot.

Beyond the slot 24 the blank 2l is extended to provide means for attaching the tell-tale to the headlight. In this form the strip is bent to provide a lip 25 engaging between the lens 2 and the bezel 3 and is provided with an extension 26 similar to the extension 'l in Fig. 2. Obviously this extension can likewise be eliminated if it is not desired to provide a theft-proof manner of securing the tell-tale to the headlight.

In this form I have also illustrated reflecting surfaces as at 21 which may take the form of advertising matter or, if desired, the reflecting material may be eliminated and the reflecting qualities of the Celluloid utilized while advertising matter may be applied to the Celluloid in the form of painting, printing or any similar manner. In the form shown, however, the reflecting surfaces answer the dual function of advertising.

In rainy Weather or when a stranger is driving a car it is very difficult for the driver to tell Whether the headlights or the parking light located within the headlight are burning. The present invention in operation produces what might be described as a ripple of light which shows at the top of the tell-tale. This ripple of light is of considerably greater intensity when the headlight is on than when the parking light is on so that this indication will furnish the operaltor of the car with information as to which light is burning.

The foregoing description has pointed out the salient features of my invention and described several forms thereof, but it is to be understood that the important and controlling feature of my invention is in the utilization of a transparent, flexible, resilient material, and that such material may be bent into a multiplicity of forms and attached in a multiplicity of Ways so that the present description is to be taken as illustrative merely and is not intended to limit the invention otherwise than is necessary by the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The combination With a headlight having a lens and an engaging bezel, of a tell-tale comprising a stripv of transparent, resilient, flexible material, said strip having a reduced lip at one end and a slot at the other, the lip passing through the slot to retain the tell-tale in looped formation and being clamped between the lens and bezel of the` headlight.

2. The combination with a headlight having a lens and an engaging bezel, of a tell-tale comprising a single strip of transparent, resilient, flexible material bent into a loop, said strip having a tongue provided With shoulders at one end and a slot adjacent the other, said tongue projecting through the slot and interlocked therewith by means of the shoulders to retain the strip in looped formation, said looped formation having a free end clamped between the lens and bezel of the headlight.

WALTER F. MATSON. 

